Restoring the Mold gold cape
Shaping the cape
Before it was restored in the 1960s, it was difficult to tell
exactly what shape this remarkable object was. It consisted of
flattened fragments of thin gold sheet, some large, some small,
with cracks, splits and holes all over them. There were also areas
missing.
The fragments of the cape were laid out flat, with likely joins
matched. The largest fragment was from the back of the object.
A conservator from the British Museum made an outline drawing,
which could be folded up into three dimensions. This gave a shape
from which a plastic support could be made and on which the
fragments could be arranged. Some of the repoussé decoration had
been flattened while the object was in the ground. The conservator
carefully pushed the decoration back into position with a wooden
tool. As a result, these areas of gold sheet regained their
original curvature. The form of a cape that fitted the shape of a
person's shoulders became apparent.
The conservator was now able to reconstruct the cape by joining
the gold fragments with a water-soluble polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)
adhesive. This was done on a backing of Terylene net.
As the fragile gold pieces were joined, the cape became unwieldy
and had to be supported with an arrangement of specially designed
and constructed clamps. Once all the fragments were joined, one
large gap remained at the front. The gap was filled with a gilded
copper plate, electroformed from part of the pattern. This allowed
the cape to stand on its own, but for extra safety it was mounted
on a fibreglass and resin support.
Images (from top, left to right):
Piecing the cape together
Reconstructing the cape
The cape mounted on its support